Does Kentucky need another taxpayer-supported university?

Should the private University of Pikeville become a state-run institution?

Not surprisingly, Paul Patton, the school's president and former Kentucky governor, thinks so.

The Lexington Herald-Leader reports that Patton believes "the move would benefit Eastern Kentucky by lowering the cost of attending Pikeville, making higher education accessible to more people. The annual cost to attend Pikeville now is more than $16,000, compared with $6,500 to $7,000 at state-supported regional universities."

Hmmmm. This from the "comment" section of the newspaper in response from a writer with the username "mysticheadlice":

"Might I ask why it would be so much cheaper as a state school to attend? Am I to conclude that either the quality would go down OR the taxpayers of the state would be footing the bill to the tune of 9 or 10 thousand dollars per student??? Someone needs to explain this discrepancy."

I think the conclusions offered by "mysticheadlice" are spot-on.